Need help planning a 15 day OCT trip...

[8timesblessed]

We are planning a trip for October for our family of 10. Our kids will be 13,12,11,9,7,6,6,5 when we travel. We are coming from Seattle and this is what I have planned so far. I'm just not sure if I've planned this right??

Right now I have boooked BWV for Oct 10-16 and hope to book GV at OKW for 6 days and then we own another timeshare and hope to book 5 nights at AKV to tag onto the end. Granted I'm not sure I can get all this. I can call this week to see if I can get the OKW GV.

We plan to do other things while we are there. My kids want to go to the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery Cove and Gatorland. We also want to do MNSSHP. This will be the trip of a lifetime because I'm not sure when we will get back to Florida.

I took two of our boys last week to BWV and stayed 5 nights and we had a great time so I could see the lay of the land and see how transportation worked etc.

I need help figuring out food. I would love to cook some in our rooms to save money but also eat a few character meals (it just adds up so fast for a family of 10). Would it be best to buy the dining plan for part of our trip or just get the TIW card since I bought annual passes for me and the two boys I took since it would be cheaper doing it that way knowing we were going again.

Starting Oct 23rd the prices for Discovery Cove go down. So we will plan that for later in our trip.

Am I planning too much??? What am I not thinking about??

About AKW........we will split up and hope to get a 2 bedroom and a studio. Will October be hard to get here at the 7 month window??

Sorry for so many questions. Just trying to plan everything.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Hi there,

I'll attempt a few of your questions.

First, we have gone to WDW in October for the last three trips and really love that time of year! Great weather (though unpredictable . . . in 2008 we had a weird cold snap in late October) overall, manageable crowds, Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, and the Halloween Party.

I personally think the Tables in Wonderland card is a very good deal. I have an accounting background and have run the numbers several times comparing TiW to the dining plans. I have always found TiW to be a better deal. It certainly gives you more flexibility.

Since you asked for opinions, well, yes, I do think you might be trying to do too much. WDW is so HUGE and offers SO much to see . . . and in my opinion, WDW is more "worth your time" than almost any other Orlando/Florida attraction. I personally would pick one or two other things to do that would be the best fit for your family and then concentrate on WDW for the rest of the time. (Obviously, just my opinion.)

Are you military, by any chance? If so, know that the active duty member and three dependents can get into either Busch Gardens or Sea World at no cost. Maybe that's an option rather than Discovery Cove, just to save a bit of money?

Make sure you plan in a couple break days. We've gone for 2 weeks the last two trips, and we planned at least two full break days in the middle of all that. It's tempting to try to fit more and more in . . . but trust me, you will enjoy a couple break days to relax, sleep in, swim, do laundry, and rest your feet. I promise you that you'll be ready for those breaks by the time they arrive and will enjoy the rest of your vacation more as a result.

Is it possible to move just once during your trip? Staying in 3-4 different places might get a bit tiresome. We usually do split stays - and I enjoy them - but you do lose valuable time packing up and moving every couple days. Just a thought . . .

We've always enjoyed the Halloween parties, and we're not even all that "into" Halloween. But Disney does such a clean version and makes it a very pleasant, fun night, even for kids. Especially for kids.

Happy planning and let me know if I can help any more.

 

[moredisneyplease]

I agree with some points on the above post: minimize your movement!!!! Especially with such a large group!! and you guys will definitely need a few days of breaks in there. The great thing about the DVC resorts are the community centers, pools, daily activities. My kids LOVE the "slow" days that the resorts because they do crafts, play games, balloon toss, contests put on by the resort, the arcade, swimming, etc etc.

If I were you (from mom to mom) I'd be leaving the family behind on day 1 (maybe bring an older helper) and hitting the grocery store to stock up on breakfast foods, snacks, lunch food, and ingredients for some easy dinners. I cant wrap my head around how much eating out day after day for a family of 10 would be!!!!

Good luck!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with the previous posters. I would NOT do the dining plan for a group of that size or those ages. It would be way more costly than planning your own meals.

I would research and decide which character meal or meals would appeal to your family. Then make sure you book them ASAP when your dining booking window opens.

There are lots of grocery stores nearby if you plan to have a rental car. If not, you can still easily use a taxi for grocery shopping.

I would HATE moving that many times though. If at all possible, I'd try to get the OKW GV for the entire stay. They are very spacious, and include 1 king bed, 2 queen beds, 2 double beds plus a queen sleep sofa and a twin sleeper chair. There are also 4 bathrooms, so plenty of space for getting everyone ready in the morning. We find the laundry room alone in the OKW GVs to be the biggest asset to staying there.

 

[mjc2003]

When I was younger we made multiple trips to kennedy, and loved it. There are other things to do in the area to break up a 15 day trip that are less expensive. SeaWorld, for example, recently had an offer for Kids under 12 got in for $5 with an adult admission. Not sure if they still do...

I also noticed your other post about groceries and eating in the villa. With 10 people, I highly recommend GardenGrocer. Instead of going to the store for 2 hours after arriving, all the stuff would be there waiting for you. And, with their site you can plan out your list for weeks, add/subtract as you see fit and really fine-tune it. I would definitely plan to eat in the room, lunch would probably be the hardest b/c you might not be around, but I would plan on breakfasts most days (except for a few character meals), and some quick, easy dinner. Frozen pizzas, hot dogs/burgers, tacos, etc... Keep it simple. Sometimes going out gets tedious, especially when you're there for that long.

We also found that snacks are great to bring to the park. Simple things, granola bars...peanuts...pretzels, etc... Can save a lot of $$.

Good luck, sounds like quite a trip, not sure if you CAN over plan when you are dealing with a crew that size!

 

[Disneyfriend]

I totally second the recommendation to use Garden Grocer. We've used them twice now.

Yes, you *can* go get your own groceries . . . but you'll be in a strange city, strange grocery store, and don't forget that "time is money". Better to spend just a bit more and have the luxury of figuring out what you want before you even leave on vacation. Get easy breakfast items (cold cereal, milk, bagels, cream cheese), snacks, and convenience foods.

We've used Garden Grocer twice now and been very pleased with them.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Publix is close and easy. They have great selections of food and just about anything else you might decide you need. I'd skip the Garden Grocer and just go to Publix. It's a fantastic grocery store. There is one about ten minutes from OKW. I was just there about two weeks ago.

 

[8timesblessed]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm great at planning food. I did it for our Disneyland trip and just made a trip to Costco and we had great meals. Salmon, steak etc. I would plan simple meals that could be made up fast.

As far as moving, yes I know that's a pain and I need to rethink this. We had to move out of the Grand California grand villa into 2 2 bedrooms midtrip and it was hard. My kids loved all the space of the GV but it's a ton of points at VGC! I loved being able to line up everything at night while the kids were all sleeping upstairs. I bought fanny packs for everyone and they took a small water bottle, baby carrots, cut up apples, peanutbutter crackers and protein bars into the park for snacks and whatever else they wanted. It worked out great for us. They had their own food and I didn't have to worry about it.

The reasoning behind moving was when I went with my two boys last week they loved the BWV area and so did I but it will use up my points and we really want to stay two weeks and make it a relaxing trip and have a couple of down days. I know from walking the parks for 5 days that it could kill you! We had one meltdown evening with my 12 year old because he was just too tired. I would plan our suitcases for each stay and pack that way so we won't even get into the suitcases that would be needed for the OKW part of the trip etc. So I was thinking if I did Disney Dining on the first days of our trip when we stay at BWV that I wouldn't have to think about meals except breakfast, and I would order from gardengrocer (I did this when I went with two of my boys). Then we would move to OKW for 6 nights and then I have another timeshare where I think I would get 6 days at AKV (really anywhere) but I thought my kids might like this. We love the dark woods and that's what they are used to being from the Northwest. I think it's going to be the most like Grand California that they loved and we would end the trip there and do Sea World and the Space Center so it wouldn't matter that we were farther away from the parks and I'm sure we would do one last day in the MK with all their favorite rides.